Method of aiming a television guided missile

ABSTRACT

A method of aiming a gyrostabilized television guided missile system from the air at a ground target wherein the missile is boresighted prior to launch. At launch time the pilot places the desired target within the gunsight of his aircraft, confirms in his cockpit monitor that the target is indeed within the tracking gate of the missile, then launches the missile.

United States Patent Woodworth et al. July 3, 1973 [54] METHOD OF AIMINGA TELEVISION 2.959.375 11/1960 Dunnegan. .Ir 244/314 D M 3,337,1618/l967 Halton 244/3.|4 GUIDE ISSILE 3,4l5,465 l2/l968 Bedford 244/114[75] inventors: William H. Woodworth; Robert D. Cunningham, both ofChina Lake, Cahf Primary Examiner-Samuel W. Engle [73] Assignee: TheUnited States of America as 8 Blower and Miner represented by theSecretary of the Navy, Washington, DC.

[22] Filed: W Mar. 28,1969 ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 812,566

A method of aiming a gyrostabilized television guided [52] US. Cl. 89/1.5 E, 33/230, l78/DIG. 20 missile system from the air at a groundtarget wherein [51] Int. Cl B64d l/04 the mi il is ore igh prior tolaunch. At launch [58] Field of Search 89/1.5; 244/3.l1, time the p l plhe ir arget within the gun- 244/3 14; 33/465 23 C; 178/DIG 20 sight ofhis aircraft, confirms in his cockpit monitor 7 that the target isindeed within the tracking gate of the [56] References Cit d missile,then launches the missile.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,955,356 10/1960 Wheeler et al 89/l5 E 2 Claims,3 Drawing Figures |o TRACKING UNIT -34 25 29 :qac 35 267/ PATENTEDJUL 3I973 3.742.812

n :3 H5 w 2| l ro TRACKING UNIT FIG. I. 261/, h

36 INVENTORS.

WILLIAM H. WOODWORTH ROBERT D. CUNNINGHAM BY ROY MILLER ATTORNEY.

METHOD OF AIMING A TELEVISION GUIDED MISSILE GOVERNMENT INTEREST Theinvention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for theGovernment of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Experience has shown that television guidedmissiles not equipped with caging means for their gyros may not retaintheir boresight if they are boresighted prior to launch. Lack of a trueboresight could increase the exposure time of an aircraft to enemy fireor could cause 7 an aborted run which would double the time of theaircraft over the target.

For an example of a television tracking system for which a boresightingproblem exists, see the copending patent application of Jack A. Crawfordet al., Ser. No. 224,594, filed Sept. 12, 1962 and the copending patentapplication of Joseph S. Brugler, Ser. No. 703,228, filed Jan. 25, 1968.

One solution for boresighting the missile prior to launch had been touse an auxiliary cockpit joy stick to shift the tracking gate of themissile with respect to the line of flight of the aircraft. The joystick concept, however, is basically a two-step operation: firstliningup and trimming the aircraft, then placing attention on the cockpitmonitor and moving the gyro with the auxiliary joy stick to find andlock-n to a target.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, meansfor mechanically caging the gyros of a missile by electrically actuatingdisc brakes placed on the torquer motors are provided. In use, anaircraft takes off and at any time a suitable object becomes visible,the pilot uncages the gyros and locks-on to the object using themonitor. While locked on to the object, the pilot flies the aircraftuntil the fixed sight of the aircraft is exactly on the lock-on point,the pilot then cages the missile. This completes the boresighting of theguidance unit. In the vicinity of the target, the pilot makes hisplanned entry maneuver to place the fixed aircraft sight on the target.A brief glance at the monitor confirms or denies lock-on. If the lock-onis good, the pilot tires the missile. If the lockon is not good, aslight aircraft movement will place it in proper position, whereupon themissile may be released.

Thus a large time saving will occur because the critical boresightingalignment is done prior to the launch maneuver.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a block diagram of themissile and tracking system;

FIG. 2 shows a pilot sighting a target through his aircraft gunsightwhile confirming lock-on with his cockpit video monitor; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a use of the system of FIG. 1 in a guided missilelaunched from an attack aircraft.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. I shows a televisioncamera 19 mounted for movement in a horizontal plane about a verticalaxis V and for movement in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis H.Torquer motors I2 and 16 continuously operate to aim camera 19 at apreselected target 27 in response to signals 11 and 15 received fromtracking unit 10. Target 27 is selected by use of monitor display 26which is operatively connected to tracking unit 10 by data link 25. Thetracking unit receives target brightness information from output 20 ofvidicon television camera 19. In order to synchronize the tracking unitwith the deflection of the electronic beam scanning within the vidicon,horizontal deflection generator 21 and vertical deflection generator 23emit horizontal synchronization pulses 22 and vertical synchronizationpulses 24 which are fed into the tracking unit.

For a full explanation of a gyrostabiliz'ed television tracking systemsee the copending application of Joseph S. Brugler, Ser. No. 703,228,filed Jan. 25, 1968 and the patent application of Jack A. Crawford etal., Ser. No. 224,594, filed Sept. 12, 1962.

Before a television guided missile may be fired on target, both theaircraft and the missile must be lockedon to the target.

Referring to FIG. 2, the method of boresighting the missile will beexplained. To boresight the weapon, the pilot locates some prominentterrain feature or other aircraft such as target aircraft 39. The pilotthen places the target aircraft within the gated region as defined bycross hairs 29 on monitor 26 and the pilot locks-on" to the target.While the television guided missile is tracking, pilot 30 maneuvers hisaircraft by using joy stick 31 to place gunsight 28 on target 39. Duringthe aircraft maneuver, button 33 on aircraft joy stick 31 is depressedto uncage the gyros. The guided missile is now capable of holdinglock-on" as the gunsight of the airplane is maneuvered over the target.

As shown in FIG 1, when button 33 is depressed the uncaging signal issent via data link 34 to tracking unit 10 which in turn operates discbrakes l4 and 18 via data links 13 and 17 to uncage vertical andhorizontal torquer motors l2 and 16, respectively. A brake which can beused for this purpose is fully disclosed in Navy Case No. 46844, RotaryMotion Brake by Earl J. Donaldson. The depressing of button 33 alsosends a signal to the tracking unit via data link 35 which centers crosshairs 29 over a target on video monitor 26.

After the aircraft is maneuvered to place gunsight 28 on target 39,button 33 is released. The release of button 33 cages torquer motors 12and 16 by releasing the electrical signal placed on brakes l4 and 18.The missile is now boresighted to the gunsight of the aircraft towhatever accuracy the pilot was able to achieve. When disc brakes 14 and18 cage the torquer motors on the missile, the boresight is held.

To release the weapon, the following sequence may be used. Referring toFIG. 3, pilot 30, knowing that his weapon is boresighted, rolls in andplaces his gunsight on target 27. Pilot 30 looks at his cockpit videomonitor 26 which shows the view of missile 37 via camera 19 of target27. The pilot confirms that in fact the target is within the trackinggates and that lock-on" has been achieved. If the target 27 is notwithin tracking gates 29 of cockpit video monitor 26, pilot 30 releasesbutton 33 and maneuvers the aircraft a small amount to place the targetwithin the tracking gates. Button 33 is now depressed and the sequencecontinued as before. The pilot depresses button 32, as shown in FIG. 2,to release the weapon. Confirmation of lock-on is important to insurethat the weapon has not shifted on its bomb rack.

What is claimed is:

1. A method for aiming a gyrostabilized television guided missile systemfrom the air at a ground target comprising:

aligning the eye of the television camera of the guided missile with thebombsight of the aircraft onto which it is placed;

mechanically caging the gyrostabilized platform on which the televisioncamera is mounted, wherein said caging is responsive to electricalimpulses; flying the aircraft in straight and level flight; sending theplane into a dive so that the bombsight of the aircraft is aimed at apreselected target; checking the monitor in the cockpit of the aircraftto insure that the target is within the field-of-view of the missile;

makingany correction necessary for bringing the target within thefield-of-view of the missile by adjusting the flight path of theairplane; and

releasing the missile at the target.

2. The method for aiming a gyrostabilized television guided missilesystem as claimed in claim 1, wherein aligning the eye of the televisioncamera with the bombsight of the aircraft onto which it is placed isaccomplished by:

locating some prominent terrain feature or another aircraft by thepilot;

placing the target within the fleld-of-view of the missile;

locking-on the missile to the target; and

tracking the target by the missile while the aircraft is maneuvering toplace the gunsight of the aircraft on the target.

1. A method for aiming a gyrostabilized television guided missile systemfrom the air at a ground target comprising: aligniNg the ''''eye'''' ofthe television camera of the guided missile with the bombsight of theaircraft onto which it is placed; mechanically caging the gyrostabilizedplatform on which the television camera is mounted, wherein said cagingis responsive to electrical impulses; flying the aircraft in straightand level flight; sending the plane into a dive so that the bombsight ofthe aircraft is aimed at a preselected target; checking the monitor inthe cockpit of the aircraft to insure that the target is within thefield-of-view of the missile; making any correction necessary forbringing the target within the field-of-view of the missile by adjustingthe flight path of the airplane; and releasing the missile at thetarget.
 2. The method for aiming a gyrostabilized television guidedmissile system as claimed in claim 1, wherein aligning the ''''eye''''of the television camera with the bombsight of the aircraft onto whichit is placed is accomplished by: locating some prominent terrain featureor another aircraft by the pilot; placing the target within thefield-of-view of the missile; ''''locking-on'''' the missile to thetarget; and tracking the target by the missile while the aircraft ismaneuvering to place the gunsight of the aircraft on the target.